Deuteronomy 26

If you watch Disney animated movies, chances are you've seen the masterful Beauty and the Beast. Amidst the film's rapturous songs, lush visuals and richly realized characters lies an emotionally resonant love story between two complex, appealing souls trying to live in a society that frowns upon them. Anyway, the prologue, gorgeously told through stained glass windows and David Ogden Stiers's beguiling narration, relates how the Beast became a beast in the first place. Basically, when he was a human prince, he pissed off an old beggar woman, who really turned out to be an enchantress. Said enchantress then turned the prince into the Beast we all know and love.

Chances are, if I see a panhandler at a busy intersection, she's not going to really be some enchantress. And one has to be careful about handing out cash to beggars willy nilly lest they just putter off and spend it on booze, smokes, or drugs. And yet the act of tithing, as verse 13 states, is meant to provide sustenance and support for "the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow." (And the Levite, but that's not quite as applicable today.)

And although the poor and disadvantaged may not be enchantresses, supporting them can have wonderful repercussions that we may never see. OK, maybe my tithing won't have the direct result of saving the world from a massive asteroid. But isn't giving someone hope, a bit more just to keep on living, reward enough?

(Yes, this is a commercial for an insurance company, but I think you get the point.)

I know that I'm more parsimonious with my funds than I could be. I do tithe, but it's the mindless "write a check every month and put it in the offering basket" kind of thing. When the Israelites tithe, they're supposed to recite a whole speech (verses 5-10) thanking God for His provision in bringing them out of the Egypt and into the Promised Land. Such a recitation forces them to recall the trials they've been through and the wonders they've seen. I should be similarly thankful for what God has given me, offering the first fruits of my labor to sustain those whom He loves. And that just might mean devoting more of my time, resources, and skills to supporting causes that help the poor, the orphaned, or the disadvantaged.